


On the Road

by AlejaosBastardos



Category: Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Drama, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Childhood Trauma, Drug Use, Family Issues, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:09:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21904996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlejaosBastardos/pseuds/AlejaosBastardos
Summary: Ten years after the massacre at the border, Daniel’s life had changed a lot, the death of his father and brother, his escape to Puerto Lobos to start a new life, dragging a past that he could never leave behind. When Daniel decided that he would never see a familiar face again, the past and the present cross in his road."Even if this road is a dead end, we'll keep going.""With you at my side, no road seems like a dead end. As long as we're together, we can make it until the end."
Relationships: Daniel Diaz & Chris Eriksen, Daniel Diaz/Chris Eriksen
Comments: 48
Kudos: 64





	1. Memories

Daniel was sitting on the sand of the beach, drawing on an old sketchbook, the sun was shining that saturday with the beautiful blue sky of Puerto Lobos. The white foam of the sea was shining in the sand, while silence flooded the place, Daniel only heard the sound of the waves hitting the shore of the beach.

Ten years had passed after the disaster that had happened on the border.

Ten years and Daniel still remembered everything as if it had happened yesterday.

Police cars flying and hitting on the ground, the entrance to Mexico being destroyed, Sean being shot.

_Sean._

Daniel stopped drawing and slammed the sketchbook.

His bitter and empty gaze was lost in the horizon of the sea.

The enormous emptiness and hatred that Daniel felt at that time, is a wound that he didn’t heal, it doesn’t matter how many times he would think of what could have happened if he had been more careful, had he not been so impulsive, had he acted otherwise…

None of that matters anymore, his brother is dead and he cannot bring him back.

He will never forgive that Sean is dead because of him, that after his death nothing mattered anymore, he was alone and couldn’t return to the United States.

His old friends, his grandparents, Karen, his father, Sean...

He couldn’t have any of that again, and if he could he wouldn’t like to ruin everything again and lose another loved one because of him.

Many things had happened after arriving in Puerto Lobos, many decisions and paths he took that he doesn’t feel proud of, that his father would never see with good eyes.

But Daniel didn’t care about it anymore, when he lost the ones he loved most in this world, nothing mattered anymore.

Six years ago Daniel tried to take his life in what it would have been his brother’s 22nd birthday, after he killed a group of hitmen he took the weapon of one of them and aim at himself. He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t, because he was a coward, because he was afraid of death, it was ironic to think how good he was at killing and destroying, but how useless he was to killing himself.

Suddenly Daniel had a strange sensation in his chest and felt someone’s gaze on him. He let out a sigh of annoyance at the thought that the band of “Los Calavericos” were again behind his head, but when he turned his head to look at them defiantly, the whole picture changed at that moment.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It couldn’t be him.

Or maybe yes?

_Chris?_


	2. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years after the massacre at the border, Daniel’s life had changed a lot, the death of his father and brother, his escape to Puerto Lobos to start a new life, dragging a past that he could never leave behind. When Daniel decided that he would never see a familiar face again, the past and the present cross in his road.

To: Christopher Eriksen

Address: 901 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, United States.

_Dear Chris:_

_I hope the information I gave you will be very useful. I'm really sorry I can’t help you find them, as you well know, the police kept tracking my movements and I can’t leave the United States, you don’t know how painful it is for me not to be able to go looking for them personally…_

_Many years have passed since I last saw them, I still remember clearly when I had to heal Sean’s wounds and the pain in my soul I felt when I saw him like that, every day I think of them, how they are, what they will be doing, how they will have done in Mexico…_

_A part of me hoped that they would try to contact me, but it didn’t happen, I hope it’s because they decided so and not because something happened…_

_I hope you get lucky on your trip and manage to find them, in the worst case they may not be in Puerto Lobos anymore, if so, the search will be more difficult._

_Any help you need, do not hesitate to contact me._

_I wish you the best and that you find Sean and Daniel safe and sound._

_With love._

_Karen._

Friday, August 7, 2026

12:00 p.m

A flight was going to take off at 1:00 p.m, a young blond was dragging a huge suitcase through Seattle airport to go to the ticket office to check in and leave his luggage, the flight would be long so he had brought his small ammunition in his backpack.

A woman with red hair smiled at her behind the counter when she saw the boy approach her.

“Good morning, can you give me your documents, please?” The blond boy greeted her and handed the girl the documents she was asking for.

“Mr. Christopher Eriksen.” The receptionist read while checking his data on the computer. “Here is your boarding pass, I hope you have a happy trip.”

Chris thanked the woman but before leaving he remembered something. “Excuse me I have a doubt, The General Ignacio Pesqueira García airport… That is the airport where I will arrive.”

“Right.”

“It’s not in Puerto Lobos…”

“It’s in Hermosillo.”

“Do you know where I should go to take a bus that leaves me in Puerto Lobos?” The woman was thoughtful with Chris’s question.

“Give me a few minutes” She said before typing on her computer.

“Papá, papá! Estoy loco por llegar a México!” Said the boy next to him. “Extraño comer tacos.”

The man next to him let out a laugh and took his 7 year old son in his arms and hugged him.

“No te preocupes hijo, cuando lleguemos a México es lo primero que vamos a comer.”

Chris looked longingly at the interaction between the father and his son, it had been 3 months since he last spoke with his father on the phone.

“Take it.” The girl offered him a paper with a name and written address. “I hope it helps, when you arrive in the city of Hermosillo take a taxi to this terminal, then you must buy a ticket from a bus that goes to Puerto Lobos.”

Chris took the sheet in his hands.

It will be a great surprise to see them again after 10 years.

“Thanks a lot.” Chris said with a smile on his lips.

* * *

The sun’s rays filtered through the window, the sky was dyed orange while a silence flooded the place, Chris could only hear the sound of the plane. The people around him were concentrated watching a movie, reading a book or sleeping.

Chris had a comic in his hands that he had stopped reading an hour ago, he had fallen asleep after Captain Alfred had entered Supervillain’s Sam’s lair. He took his backpack and took out some cereal bars, probably they were going to have dinner soon, but Chris was very hungry.

When he checked what else was in his backpack, he found the old drawing he and Daniel had made. In the drawing you could see careless strokes of a blond boy with a mask, cape and armor, and next to him another dark boy wearing a hooded cape and a mask.

Chris smiled sadly and pulled a sketchbook into his backpack and opened it until he came to a drawing that had the same concept of children’s drawing but much more professional.

He sighed as he remembered everything that happened in Beaver Creek, seeing Daniel and Sean fleeing through the forest, his farewell when Daniel last saw him when he climbed into the treehouse.

Chris had hoped to see them again, that things would be fixed and that all the misunderstandings would be resolved, to have the Diaz brothers again as neighbors and to be able to stay together.

But none of that happened. Daniel and Sean didn’t come back and when Chris asked Mr. Reynolds about them Mrs. Reynold broke into tears.

Since that day Chris didn’t talk about them with Mr. Reynolds anymore.

All he knew is that Daniel and Sean had fled the border after a massacre that no one could explain since the Díaz brothers didn't carry any weapons.

The mysterious deaths of that incident had Chris in suspense, but he was sure of something, Daniel had nothing to do with what had happened. Daniel, his childhood friend, couldn’t have killed those people.

Chris’s theory is that maybe someone there had super powers too.

From that day on many things changed, from the impact of the news, to things after what happened.

His father had decided to leave Chris with his grandparents living in Seattle for a time, while he resolved his own alcoholism issues.

But Charles never came back, and the times Charles talked to him he always replied that he wasn't ready to return yet.

Chris was patient, but things never happened as he expected.

When Chris graduated from high school, his father called him to congratulate him and sent him a letter of apology for not attending his graduation with money inside.

Every time Chris asked Charles where he was and when he was going back, he always replied that he was still fixing his affairs and that he needed to do it alone. Chris stopped asking the same thing 3 years ago.

Every time Chris talked to his father, it was always about how he was doing and how he was doing with his studies at the university, they didn’t talk beyond that, and every time Chris asked his father how he was doing, his answers were very short.

Chris had started his BA in Interdisciplinary Arts 2 years ago at the University of Seattle, his grandparents were very proud of him.

But 1 year ago a great doubt invaded Chris.

It all started when during one morning at the university, Chris was having breakfast in the cafeteria along with other classmates. On the television they had to watch the news from their seats, journalists made a reminder of the border massacre.

_10 years after the border massacre and even the police cannot explain what happened._

_The Díaz brothers fled to Mexico, the United States government requested their extradition, but according to the Mexican government the police have not been able to find them._

_Please, a minute of silence to the dead at the border._

“You don’t think it’s strange that they haven’t been able to solve how the massacre took place.” asked a boy named Nick who was sitting next to Chris.

“One of the several theories said one of the boys who fled had telekinesis powers.” Answered a girl with dark skin.

“Do you really think that?” Another boy scoffed. “Surely the boys had some hidden bomb they threw and that would explain why the cars flew.”

“But according to the investigations, no weapon was found at the scene of the crime.” answered a girl named Tess. “how could it be a bomb if none of that was found?”

At that time the guys began to debate the theories they had found on the Internet.

A week after Chris investigated online and read all the news portals that talked about the massacre, he began investigating all social networks to contact Daniel and Sean. But none of that worked.

He could only find Sean’s Facebook that had not posted anything since 2016.

He had left multiple messages but none of them were answered.

So Chris started doing his little private investigation. That same year, during his summer vacation he decided to visit Beaver Creek. His main reason was to speak personally with Mr. Reynolds and to be able to get information from the whereabouts of Daniel and Sean.

When he arrived he hoped to find his father in his old house, but when he reached the front of the house it was super careless, his old playground was full of a long lawn that had not been trimmed for years, and his old Tree house was very neglected, it looked as if at any moment it could fall.

His house looked like a place that had not been inhabited for a long time.

Similarly, Chris reached the porch and rang the bell, nobody opened the door. Then he looked out the windows, but they all had low curtains.

A sigh of sadness came from Chris’s lips, this house was full of memories, both good and sad. After all, it was the place where he grew up with his mother when she was alive.

After giving up he decided to walk to the house of Mr. Reynolds. The last time Chris saw them they didn’t look as old as now, but they were still there, together, supporting each other.

They were very surprised to see Chris on his porch, Mrs. Reynold hugged him and told him that he had grown a lot and that he was very handsome. Chris told them a little about his life, that he was studying now at the university and that he had rented a small flat apartment to avoid being a burden for his grandparents while with his part-time work he paid his expenses.

After having a small chat with Mr. Reynolds, Chris asked if they had news of the Díaz brothers.

The face of both changed completely, Mrs. Reynold shook her head.

“Is there no way to know anything about them?” asked a hopeful Chris.

Mrs. Reynold sighed.

“My daughter, Karen, she could inform you better of them, she saw them for the last time before crossing the border.” Mr Reynold replied before taking a small paper and writing his daughter’s address.

“Look for her, she will inform you better about my grandchildren,” he replied sadly.

After the dinner with the Reynolds, Chris decided it was time to return to Seattle and plan his next trip to Arizona.

Before leaving, Mrs. Reynold hugged him tightly.

“Thank you very much for coming Chris, I love you as if you were another grandson.”

His heart stirred, it had been a long time since he had last had contact with Mrs. Reynold, he felt bad for not having visited them before to find out how they were.

He promised himself to visit them again soon.

After returning to Seattle he left days later to Arizona where he would later meet with Karen.

At first Chris thought that Mr. Reynold had been wrong to give the address since he only saw desert when he arrived. But after advancing in his car with the GPS activated, he found a small town near the Grand Canyon.

Chris was surprised to know that there was a small town in a place like this, where you could see RVs and houses made of wood around.

It was not very difficult to find Karen since she was very well known in the place.

When Chris knocked on the door, a blond lady leaned out the window and was a little confused to see him. However, she opened the door to the unknown boy and told him to come inside.

 _He looks exactly the age of Daniel._ She thought.

Upon entering Chris introduced himself and went straight to the point. Karen was surprised that someone else was investigating the whereabouts of her children.

“Count on me in anything that can help you find Sean and Daniel,” Karen said as she took Chris’s hands.

That same night Chris had fallen asleep at Karen’s house, they had talked both of their lifes, Chris told her his story, how he had met Daniel and everything that had happened.

After Karen told him about her life, she told him that she had never stopped thinking about them and that like him, she has been investigating the whereabouts of her children without much success. All she knew was that they had fled to Puerto Lobos and there was no way she could go there.

And that’s how Chris was now on a plane that went straight to Mexico, just 3 hours more and he would arrive in the Mexican city of Hermosillo.

Chris just hoped to find the Díaz brothers safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry christmas guys! I hope you all have a wonderful time!


	3. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years after the massacre at the border, Daniel’s life had changed a lot, the death of his father and brother, his escape to Puerto Lobos to start a new life, dragging a past that he could never leave behind. When Daniel decided that he would never see a familiar face again, the past and the present cross in his road.

Chris couldn’t see anything.

Everything around him was dark, he could feel in his shoes some small rocks that hindered his passage. Chris kept walking cautiously around the area and raised his arms to avoid tripping over something.

But suddenly, everything around him lit up.

Around it there was nothing more than barren land with huge rocks that looked like mountains that crossed the ground, in the center of the place there was a huge flashing lantern.

_Mantroid?_

_Why am I seeing it after so long?_

Chris blinked confused without understanding anything and kept walking towards the lantern.

Whispers began to sound around him. Chris turned back to see if anyone else was following him, but there was only a huge horizon filled with rocks and barren land.

The sky was gray and the temperature was very cold. When Chris thought he was going to be able to touch the lantern, a huge dark figure rose from the place and opened his red eyes that looked at him menacingly.

"Do you think you will be able to recover your friends?" Said the figure with a mocking tone. "You should accept that you lost them forever, I thought ten years were enough for you to understand that they won't come back to you."

"That's a lie," Chris whispered. "None of this is their fault."

"Do you really think so? Who would want to be friends with a brat like you?" He smiled maliciously. "A loser boy who only knows how to lose his loved ones, or should I remind you of how your mother died for wanting to buy the toy of her son."

"Shut up." Chris cried out loud. "Don't you dare talk about my mother, son of a bitch!"

"Oh Chris, look how scared I am about your threats." The figure responded mockingly. "I don't understand why Daniel saved your life that day, he is as useless as you, your father would be more relieved if you had died."

"I imagine being him and having the burden of my wife dying because my son's useless wanted a toy." The devilish figure was lamented. "What do you think about it? If you hadn't been born none of this would have happened.."

"Enough." Chris replied in distress.

"If the useless one of your friend would not have saved your ass that day, he might not have had to flee the police, and he would be with his grandparents at this time, and not being a fugitive from justice in Mexico."

"I said shut up!" Chris said punching the creature.

The devilish creature broke into Chris's arms and a dark laugh was heard all over the place.

"Chris, I'm not a mortal like you." Chris felt a chill on his back when he heard the creature's voice behind him. "I am everywhere."

And before Chris could face him he felt a blow to his head.

* * *

Chris woke up suddenly over his seat on the bus.

 _What time is it?_ He thought looking at his watch.

Saturday, August 8.

8:30 a.m

Chris leaned back in his seat and touched his aching head, a headache began to bother him after waking up startled. He hated nightmares, he stopped having them two years after living with his grandparents.

Chris looked at the window.

The landscape had changed, before he saw only trees, now there is only desert.

“Estimados pasajeros, dentro de unos 20 minutos más vamos a llegar a Puerto Lobos, vamos a repartir el desayuno en este momento, y por favor, cuando lleguemos no olviden su equipaje.” A girl communicated through the microphone.

"Dear passengers, in about 20 more minutes we will arrive in Puerto Lobos, we will distribute breakfast at this time and please, when we arrive don’t forget your luggage." The girl repeated in english.

Chris would lie if he said he didn't felt nervous. He feels nervous about everything, meeting with Daniel and Sean after so much time, being in a country alone, not speaking the language.

Chris had taken Spanish classes in high school, and had been studying what was necessary before traveling to Mexico and yet, when he arrived at the Hermosillo airport he had felt lost, however, thanks to the paper delivered by the airline receptionist, he could explain to the taxi driver that he needed to go to the terminal to take a bus.

After spending the night in a hostel near the terminal, luckily the hostel the receptionist could speak English, buying the ticket to Puerto Lobos was another problem.

The employee at the bus terminal, only repeated that he didn’t speak English while Chris tried to explain that he wanted a ticket to Puerto Lobos. However, thanks to his cell phone he translated the sentence to copy it on a sheet paper and give it to him.

"Good Morning!" He was greeted by a girl. "Here is your breakfast, thanks for traveling with us!"

Chris took the breakfast and answered a "thank you".

"Estimados pasajeros hemos llegado a nuestro destino, muchas gracias por viajar con nosotros." The same girl communicated again through the microphone.

"Dear passengers, we have reached our destination, thank you very much for traveling with us."

* * *

After Chris left the bus with his backpack and looked for his suitcase, he sat down on a bench in the terminal to eat the breakfast he had been given.

And now what?

Where can he start looking for Daniel and Sean?

The heat began to annoy Chris so he took off his coat.

What if he started asking about Daniel and Sean somewhere known?

What site was known in Puerto Lobos?

Suddenly Chris heard two people speaking in English beside him. It was a couple who were discussing where to visit before going to lunch.

"We should go to the beach and then eat at a restaurant where they sell seafood. You don't think so." A girl with blue eyes and blond hair said to her husband with brown skin and brown eyes.

"We should rest from the trip first baby"

"But it's 9:30 in the morning!"

"Umn... Excuse me.."

They both turned in the direction of the voice of the young man who spoke to them.

"Sorry to bother you, my name is Chris and it's the first time I've come to Mexico." The boy said it embarrassed.

The couple looked at each other and smiled at the boy.

"Are you only here?" The girl asked with a smile.

"Yes."

"But you look so young!"

"I'm 20 years old, I'm adult enough to travel alone."

The boy who was with the girl burst out laughing.

"Smart boy, where are you from?" Asked the dark boy.

"From Oregon, Seattle." Chris replied with a smile. "And you?"

"I am from Texas, Dallas." the blue-eyed girl replied.

"I was born in the capital of Mexico, but we currently live together in Dallas, we are on vacation for our honeymoon." The boy explained.

"My name is Sasha and his name is José, nice to meet you Chris!" The woman smiled. "How can we help you?"

"I'm looking for some crowded place in town, I need to find some old friends." Chris explained. "The problem is that I don't know where to start."

"Why don't you visit the town center?" José asked. "This town is very small, if your friends are here I don't think you have any problem finding them there."

"In addition it is the commercial zone of Puerto Lobos, any shop that you are looking for is there, the rest of the place are houses of the habitants." Sasha concluded.

Chris looked around the exit of the terminal.

"Here is everything super close amigo, walking from here to the center is 15 minutes, you just need your GPS on to not get lost." José replied as if he had read his thoughts.

Chris nodded.

"Thank you very much for your help, really." Chris thanked him sincerely with a smile. "I’m sorry for having bothered you"

"You're so cute." Sasha replied.

"I hope you are lucky in your little search, in the center of Puerto Lobos there are several good restaurants in case you are hungry." José advised him as he winked an eye. "Have fun, Mexico is wonderful."

Sasha said goodbye to Chris and took her husband's hand to address what looked like a small coffee shop in the terminal.

Chris turned on his cell phone and placed himself on the map through his GPS. His main reason here is to find Daniel and Sean, but he had brought his professional camera to take some good photos of the place.

And what better way than walking through Puerto Lobos?

* * *

3:00 p.m

Chris has toured the entire shopping center of Puerto Lobos, he had forgotten to count the number of shops and places he had entered, he found Mexican craftsmanship super striking, there were many virgins, skulls and handmade hats.

But there is no trace of Daniel and Sean.

Chris's stomach began to growl and he was tired of walking so much dragging his luggage, so he decided to enter a small restaurant near the beach.

"Buenas tardes! Bienvenido a Don Cangrejo! Qué desea ordenar?” The waiter asked very animatedly.

"Emm, hola, yo no hablo español bien."

"Oh, wait a moment." He responded by withdrawing from the site to go to a brunette girl with black hair who was cleaning a table, he whispered something in her ear.

A few minutes later the girl approaches Chris with a smile on her face.

"Good afternoon! Please take a seat."

Chris sighed in relief knowing someone could understand him.

"What do you want to order?"

"Do you have crab soup please?"

"Anything else you would like to order?" She asked as she wrote down everything in a small notebook.

Chris shook his head.

"I will be right back a few minutes with your order."

"Thank you."

Chris felt sad and unmotivated, he had entered every place and asked people who understood English if they knew who are Daniel and Sean Díaz.

No one knew who he was talking about.

And what if Daniel and Sean were no longer in Puerto Lobos? If so, this trip had been a waste of time.

The idea of finding them again suddenly looked so far away again. Karen will be sad when Chris talks to her.

A sigh of discouragement escaped Chris's lips.

The girl who brought his food watched him curiously as she left his plate on the table.

"Hey, can I help you with something?"

"I don't think... I'm looking for someone." Chris replied.

"And what is the name of that person?"

"Daniel and Sean Díaz, do you know them? They came to this place 10 years ago."

The girl shook her head.

"I've never heard that name, Sean... And well, there are many Daniel here, but I've never heard the last name here." The girl replied. "Sorry, are you sure they are here?

Chris took a sip of his soup, his hunger had suddenly taken off.

"I don’t know." He replied sad.

* * *

It was 4:00 p.m., Chris was walking near the street while dragging his suitcase, he didn't know what to do now, in a few hours it will get dark and he had no place to stay to sleep. The money he had brought was not much to afford great luxuries.

Suddenly Chris felt someone cover his mouth from behind and point him with something sharp to his neck.

"Shhhhh... tranquilo guerito." A man whispered from behind as he brought the knife to his neck. "Nobody here wants to hurt you... I just want you to give us that suitcase you are dragging."

Chris heard the laughter of other men, they were more than one he thought.

He released the handle of the suitcase and felt someone took it.

"So, I like that you are that kind of tourists, calm and obedient, you better not look back the next 5 minutes when I release you, or this knife will end up in your eye."

Chris raised his hands, the unknown man released and pushed him to the ground. He heard the footsteps of the gang members running away and tears of rage sprouted from Chris's eyes.

 _It was a bad idea to come here._ He thought.

The sky still looked beautiful blue as the sun began to approach the coast.

Chris wiped away his tears and kept walking without knowing where he was going, he thought he should find a place to spend the night and then leave Puerto Lobos in the morning and go to the nearest airport.

Suddenly a person caught Chris's attention.

A boy who was on his back on the seashore was drawing in an old sketchbook, he looked thoughtful, absorbed in his thoughts.

Chris got a little closer to him to see the drawing, but before he could see it the boy with dyed hair closed the sketchbook.

Chris froze a little in the place thinking the boy had noticed his presence, but when he see that his gaze was lost on the coast, he sighed in relief.

 _This is the moment when I should walk away._ He thought.

But the boy's side face looked miserable, as if he had lived the worst tragedy of his life..

Chris wanted to approach him and ask him what was wrong.

 _Silly idea._ He thought, the boy looked dangerous, the best was to walk away.

But before he could keep walking, the dyed hair boy turned sharply to face him while looking at him menacingly.

Chris felt that his heart was going to leave his chest at any moment when their eyes met.

_Daniel?_


	4. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years after the massacre at the border, Daniel’s life had changed a lot, the death of his father and brother, his escape to Puerto Lobos to start a new life, dragging a past that he could never leave behind. When Daniel decided that he would never see a familiar face again, the past and the present cross in his road.

Seagulls flew around as the sky began to turn orange. The rays of the sun shined on the sea.

A warm sea breeze blew along the coast as the waves crashed against the sand.

Daniel was in shock processing what he saw, Chris watched him expectantly without being able to say a word.

He tried to speak, but his voice wouldn't come out.

It had been so many years, neither of them knew anything about each other since then, many things happened, many things changed.

Chris didn't know where to start, his heart was beating fast of happiness without still believing what he saw.

When Daniel looked at Chris for the first time, his menacing look changed to one of astonishment.

However, a few minutes later his expression changed to an indifferent one and he began to walk towards the right side of the beach, moving away from the boy.

Chris understood the intentions of the other boy and began calling him as he walked behind him.

"Daniel!" He called trying to attract the attention of the dark-skinned boy. "Daniel, stop!"

Daniel continued to ignore him and increased the speed of his steps so he could get away from the freckled boy.

Chris started running after him and before Daniel could stop him, Chris pushed him down.

They both let out a groan of pain as they hit the sand.

"Don't you dare use your telekinesis powers on me." Said a panting Chris with a defiant tone.

"You've gone mad!?" Daniel said with a tone of annoyance while leaning on the sand to get up. "Leave me alone, I don't know what Daniel you are talking about."

"Daniel." He said in a pleading tone. "Please, I traveled here to look for you, we are all worried about you.."

"I already told you, you have the wrong person." Chris was interrupted by the dyed-haired boy who looked at him from above coldly. "Don't bother me if you don't want to get in trouble with me."

Daniel turned around and continued on his way.

Chris sat on the sand as he watched the boy walk away.

Was everything really going to end here?

Without some explanation or reason as to why Daniel was ignoring him?

Unable to have any result on this trip?

Chris got up taking the backpack that had not been stolen and began to follow Daniel.

* * *

Chris had been following Daniel for about 10 minutes until the boy finally reached a small house in front of the beach, Chris knew that Daniel had noticed his presence throughout the path, however Daniel decided to ignore him.

The sky began to get dark.

Daniel pulled some keys from his pocket to open the door and before entering, he looked at chris threateningly.

He slammed the door.

Chris stood in front of the porch of Daniel's house and let out a sigh. He opened his backpack and started looking for more cereal bars to eat before sitting on the first step.

It would be a long night, but Chris wasn’t going to give up.

7:30 p.m

Chris opened the first cereal bar and looked for his flashlight and the comic he was reading on the airplane.

Daniel looked at the blond boy through the window while he drank a beer.

* * *

11:00 p.m

Chris rested his head on one of the porch railings and closed his eyes. He felt tired after such an exhausting day, he would try to sleep where he was, he couldn’t risk neglecting Daniel.

When he thought the dream was about to reach him, he felt that someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey." He was called by a voice.

Chris shook his head half asleep and saw Daniel standing in the front of the door.

"Don't sleep there ... Idiot." Daniel said.

"Am I still dreaming?" Chris said in a playful tone.

Daniel couldn't help smiling, Daniel hadn't smiled for a long time.

"I'm sorry Chris.. for what happened."

"It doesn't matter.." Chris said before sighing sadly. "I missed you a lot."

Daniel said nothing and looked away from Chris, he felt his heart warm.

"You should come in." He said turning away from the door to invite him to pass. "It isn't safe to stay here alone at night."

Chris nodded and took his backpack before entering the house.

Daniel's house was small, the kitchen and the living room were one, Chris saw a couch and a TV, next to those things was the kitchen with a table and a chair.

"I don't usually receive visitors." Daniel said behind Chris. "But whatever you need, tell me."

"Your home is comfortable." Chris said looking curiously around.

Next to the couch was a small bookcase with some books. Chris took out the first book he saw.

_To Kill a Mockingbird._

_A classic._ Chris thought as he returned it to the bookcase.

"Dude, have you had dinner?" He asked, breaking the silence as he watched Chris read his books.

"Cereal bars and .. that .." He said scratching his head. "The truth is that I wasn't very hungry either."

Daniel sighed.

"I saved some pizza from my dinner, if you want you can eat it." He said crossing his arms.

Chris smiled at him.

"I will eat it if you sit with me."

"Where?" Daniel asked mockingly looking at the table that only had one chair. "On your lap? "

"Dude, do you have any problems with people like us who like eating accompanied?" Chris asked. "We can sit together on the couch, of course if you aren't that kind of old man who bothers if someone stain his couch."

"You win." Daniel rolled his eyes and smiled. "Jesus, you haven't changed much, you're still as capricious as I remember you."

“Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror? You were the king of stubbornness.”

Both laughed.

Daniel took the pizza out of the microwave and handed it to Chris who was sitting on the couch, took the TV control and turned on the TV before sitting down.

They remained in silence for a few minutes while watching the TV, Chris took a bite of his pizza.

"Then .. why are you here after such a long time?" Daniel asked as he watched the reporters said the latest news from Mexico.

Chris sighed and rested his head on the couch.

"Dude, we haven't heard anything from you and Sean for ten years ago." Chris replied before giving his pizza a final bite. "When you and Sean entered Mexico it was as if you both had disappeared from the planet."

Daniel remained silent.

"You didn’t send any text message or a letter that you and Sean were fine..." Chris reproached him. "Do you know what your grandparents think? They think you guys are dead, that you both failed to cross the border alive."

Daniel looked away from the TV.

"Karen, your mom.."

"She absolutely didn’t do shit to look for me." Daniel interrupted.

"Dude, your mom can’t travel, she is strained in the United States," Chris explained. "She was locked up in jail for a few years when you both fled, two years ago she was released, but she has been prohibited from traveling, and the police are constantly tracking her to find out if she is in contact with you and Sean."

"Dammit" Daniel cursed. "You talk about Sean as if he were alive."

Chris quickly turned his head to Daniel and looked at him in shock.

OH.

Oh.

They kept silent, Chris felt his stomach churn.

"When we arrived to the border." Daniel continued with his eyes fixed on the TV. "The police were waiting for us at the exit."

Chris remembers when the events at the border were a scandal, everyone talked about what happened, he even remembers when his father watched the news when he thought Chris was sleeping, hoping to know more about what had happened.

"Sean wanted to surrender to police, I didn't want him to do it .." Daniel said bitterly. "It had been his plan after all, to flee the United States, cross the border, live in Puertos Lobos, the town where our father grew up. That was the plan."

"What happened there?" Chris whispered.

Daniel turned off the TV.

"I made the car move forward... I removed who got in our way. We crossed a police shooting, they tried to stop us." Daniel continued. "When we were able to cross the border, I was happy, we managed to get in, we didn't have to worry anymore... but.."

A sob escaped from Daniel's lips.

"During the shooting Sean was shot."

Chris took a deep breath to hold back the tears.

"I couldn't do anything to save him Chris... I saw him die in that car and I couldn't do anything." Daniel covered his face to hide the tears that had begun to run down his face. "I was a moron who didn't realize anything until it was too late."

The house was completely silent, Chris could only hear Daniel's sobs.

"Daniel .." Chris said placing a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "It's too late, you should rest."

Daniel sighed and wiped the tears from his face.

"Tomorrow we can talk more calmly... If you want." Chris had a lot to think about first.

Daniel nodded.

"You can sleep in my room." Daniel pointed to the door where it was. "I'm going to sleep here."

"Hey, it's not necessary, I can sleep here."

"Chris, sleep in my room." Daniel said seriously. "Please."

Chris didn't refuse anymore.

Daniel turned off the lights in the room and threw himself on the couch with the cell phone in his hand.

Chris watched him a few seconds before entering the room and leaving his bag in a corner.

There was only one single bed and a closet.

When Chris lay in the bed he felt his body sink into it.

He felt very tired, his mind still processed everything he had heard.

_Sean is dead._

Tears started roll down his cheeks.

Chris didn't know how he would tell Karen this when he called her.


	5. Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years after the massacre at the border, Daniel’s life had changed a lot, the death of his father and brother, his escape to Puerto Lobos to start a new life, dragging a past that he could never leave behind. When Daniel decided that he would never see a familiar face again, the past and the present cross in his road.

Daniel wasn’t sleeping.

Yes, he was lying on the couch and his eyes were closed, but he wasn’t sleeping.

Yesterday He had finally been able to sleep 4 hours in the morning, but today? Nothing.

It should be around 7:00 a.m., he felt the sunlight on his eyelids. He had tried to sleep at 4:00 a.m., but he couldn't.

He sighed and got up from the couch.

 _Another night without sleeping a shit._ He thought.

The house was completely silent, Chris must still be sleeping.

Daniel took out a pack of cigarettes he had stored in the kitchen and opened the door carefully to avoid waking Chris. There was no one around the beach, so he sat on the first step of his porch and lit a cigarette, then he took it to his mouth.

The waves of the sea moved smoothly along the coast. Daniel loved the sound of the waves.

A puff of smoke came out of his mouth as he watched the landscape.

Daniel threw and stepped on the cigarette when a brown figure in the distance quickly approached him when she noticed his presence.

"Hey! Kiara!"

The dog greeted him by licking his face while Daniel smiled.

"Where were you? I was already beginning to worry about you." He said while stroking her head, Kiara barked at him as she waved her tail happily.

"Mmm, you must be hungry, I'll get you some food."

But when he got up and opened the door, Chris was on the other side about to open the door too.

"Hey." Daniel greeted.

"Hey." Chris repeated and a huge yawn came out of his mouth. "Good mornaaaang."

"Yes, good mornaaaang for you too."

"You are a dick." He shook his head and looked outside the house. "Oh, do you have a dog?"

Chris walked to Kiara and put his hand toward her to caress her.

"Be careful, she doesn't like strangers." Kiara put her head close to Chris's hand and started licking him. "Well, except you."

"Who doesn't like me?" He smiled and began to stroke Kiara's body. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl, her name is Kiara."

"She is super cute."

"And she's not mine. But two years ago She got hurt in the street, so I brought her here to heal her." Daniel said as he caressed her too. "She stayed with me until she was better, since that day she always visits me every morning."

"That is so cool, I always wanted to have a dog." Chris said. "But my father never liked the idea, and my grandparents had cats, so I could never have one."

"Did you live with your grandparents?"

"Yes.. a while after you left my father decided that he needed to solve some personal problems he had and thought it was the best to me to stay with my grandparents." Chris replied without saying much.

"I get it."

Daniel neither asked nor said anything else.

He entered the house and took out a food bowl for dogs and drinking water.

"I always have bags of food for when she comes to visit me." Daniel said as he brought the food bowl to Kiara. "Although I know I'm not the only one who feeds her, she has the whole neighborhood in her pocket."

Chris laughed.

Kiara barked and wagged her tail happily before eating her food.

"Daniel, don't you mind if I use your kitchen to make breakfast?" Chris asked.

"It depends, if you're going to make me breakfast too, no, it wouldn't bother me." Daniel said trying to sound serious.

Chris rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Well, yes, I was going to make breakfast to you too."

"It's a joke dude."

"You clean the dishes and I cook, is it a deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

"Mmm dude." Chris called him.

"Mmm?" Daniel replied that he was lying on the couch writing on his phone.

"There is no bread in the fridge, I only see cans of beers, butter, water, milk, ketchup, a tomato and... an old lemon?"

"Oh shit, sorry, I forgot that I had to go to the market."

"Well, we have the eggs at least."

"What else do you need to cook?"

"I think we're fine, we can eat scrambled eggs and drink the remaining milk, but we should buy food for later."

"Ok." Daniel said as he approached the cupboard to check what he needed to buy. "But before we go to the market, I need to go somewhere. I promise that I won't be there for long."

"Where?"

"Sean's grave."

"Oh."

Both were silent for a few minutes until Chris spoke.

"Can I go with you?"

Daniel looked at him.

"Of course you can, he will be happy to see you again."

After Chris made the scrambled eggs, they both sat down to eat on the couch.

"Not bad, it’s very good." Daniel said before taking another spoonful to his mouth.

"Things you have to learn when you live alone." Chris said.

"Don’t speak for me, I don’t know how to cook."

Chris laughed.

"How are you supposed to feed yourself?"

"Most of the time I eat street food, and if I have to cook because I have no choice, I always cook very simple things."

"Well, it's not that hard, I can teach you if you want."

"I will consider your proposal."

Chris finished eating his plate and sighed.

"Dude, I need a favor from you." He said as his cheeks began to turn red with shame.

"Uh, ok, what happened?"

"Well I don't know if you've noticed it but when I entered your house I didn't have any suitcases."

"Oh, someone stole you?"

"No... well yes, I know, it's stupid."

"Dammit." Daniel cursed "Are you alright? Did he do something to you?"

"No, not really, he threatened me with a knife but nothing happened, he just took my suitcase."

"Mmm, how did he look?"

"I don't know, he was behind me and I couldn't look at him because he was threatening me." Chris said. "Why is that important?"

"For nothing.. I just want to know." Daniel replied. "Sorry dude, it's not very safe here, you have to be careful when you're alone in the street."

"Yes, I know.." Chris said. "My question is if you can lend me some of your clothes? I promise to buy some clothes so I don't keep bothering you."

"I don't mind lending you my clothes, I just think it wouldn't be your style, you know." Daniel said as he looked at Captain America's shirt that Chris was wearing.

"I will make a sacrifice this time if I can wear some clean clothes."

"Ok, ok, I'll give you clean clothes." Daniel said laughing.

After Daniel gave him some clean clothes, Chris went to the bathroom. Daniel took the time to wash all the dirty dishes and put them in their place.

When Chris opened the bathroom door he found Daniel sitting on his bed using his cell phone with more clean clothes next to him.

"Hey, you look great wearing that shirt." Daniel said as he looked at the skeleton drawing.

"You really believe it?"

"Well, that shirt looks more like you than me. I didn't wear it, it was a gift but I didn't like it."

"Mmm, I like it."

Daniel smiled at him.

"I'll go to take a shower too." He said as he stood up and took off his shirt to go to the bathroom.

Chris looked at his chest for a few seconds and then looked away to another place.

"Uh, well .. I'll wait for you outside the house."

"Okay."

Before Daniel closed the bathroom door Chris looked at his back.

When he left the house, Chris saw two kids swimming on the beach.

He took out his cell phone and looked at the charge percentage.

1%

 _Awesome._ He thought sarcastically, his cell phone charger was in the suitcase that was stolen.. so he is fucked up.

He sighed and sat down the first step to look at the beach.

He would have to ask Daniel for his cell phone to call his grandparents and tell them that he was fine, at least he could contact them yesterday in the morning.

And Karen.. Chris has to convince Daniel to talk to her.

He still doesn't know how, Daniel seems to hold a lot of resentment yet.

"Chris." Daniel called him at the entrance of the house, he had another sleeveless shirt on. "Come on."

* * *

Daniel and Chris walked together until they arrived at what looked like an old construction that was never finished, next to it was a blue cross with several flowers and candles that had the image of the Virgin Mary.

_R.I.P_

_SEAN_

Daniel reached down and took the withered flowers from the vases.

"Later I will bring him some new ones, these flowers are already very withered."

"Daniel."

"What?"

"How did all this feel?" Chris wasn't quite sure to ask this question.

"Like a fucking hell."

"It still hurts?"

"As if it were the first day."

"Dude.. you know, regardless of what you believe, none of this is your fault." Chris said.

"Don't try to comfort me, if I hadn't taken Sean to that damn police shooting none of this would have happened." Daniel said.

"You were a child."

"And nothing will change the result."

"It was too much for you, both were children in a situation that neither could handle, you both didn't know what to do at that time where there was so much injustice on the part of those who had the duty to protect you, you didn't know how to use your powers." Chris replied. "You just tried to defend yourself."

"You know, every night before I go to sleep I think about what it would have been better to do at that time." Daniel's gaze was fixed on the cross. "Obviously what I decided to do was the worst decision of all."

"Daniel.."

"Chris." Daniel said. "If I had accepted Sean's decision to turn himself in to the police he would be alive right now."

Chris didn't answer anymore. Daniel got up and shook his pants.

The laughter of the kids was heard in the distance.

"Let's go, we can get the flowers in the market too." Daniel said and walked towards the street to throw away the old flowers.

Chris stood a few minutes standing in front of Sean's grave, his sad look was fixed on the cross.

"I'm so sorry Sean."

* * *

Daniel walked to an old pickup that was parked in the back of his house and took out the keys to open it.

"I didn't know you had a pickup." Chris said as he looked at it curiously.

"Well, yes, this shit is old but I like it a lot." Daniel said as he opened the passenger door. "Come on."

When Chris got in the car, Daniel started the engine and drove back until he reached the road.

Upon arrival, he pressed the throttle forward.

Chris watched the landscape as he felt the wind on his face.

"There is a lot of desert around here." Chris said. "It reminds me of the Colorado desert, but with less vegetation."

"Yes, welcome to Puerto Lobos, you are hardly going to see a tree in this shit, there are only cactus." Daniel answered and turned on the radio.

A Metallica song began to play in the background.

"So, are you going to tell me why that drastic change of look?" Chris asked.

"Uh? Oh, do you mean the tattoos?" Daniel asked amused.

"Well yes, but your hair surprised me a lot."

"The hair thing was stupid, I'm not going to lie to you." He said laughing. "I lost a bet."

"Dude, really?"

"Yes, the first time was because I lost the bet, then I started dyeing it because I liked how it looked."

"Well, the color looks good on you."

"Yes, people always tell me that I have a handsome face so anything I decide to do with my hair would be look good, who knows, maybe I will dye it green or something like this next time... If I'm bored enough to do that. "

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Chris said laughing.

Daniel laughed.

"It's a joke, but I miss my original color, so I'll let it grow to cut it later."

"That sounds better."

"What about you? You haven't changed much. You are exactly the same Captain Spirit I met 10 years ago." Daniel asked. "Do you still do cosplay and that shit?"

Chris laughed.

"Dude, you are a dick, jesus." He said as he dried the tears of laughter. "Well, you got me there."

"No shit." Daniel said laughing. "You became an otaku or.. what is the name of the Japanese shit?"

"No, I mean, anime is fine, but I like comics more than manga."

"Well, I don't know what is the difference between a comic and a manga to be honest." Daniel said "But do you cosplay?"

Chris rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Yes, I've done cosplay, especially Marvel."

"Well dude, that's cool." Daniel said. “You should show me a photo of you wearing a cosplay.”

"Well, thanks I guess?” Chris said amused. “and no, definitely not.”

"What are you studying? I guess something that has to do with arts?"

"Actually, yes." Chris replied. "Interdisciplinary Arts."

"That's great, I'm happy for you Chris."

Chris smiled at him.

"You also draw."

"Yes, but I doubt I have the same professional level you have."

"Well, that's something I have to decide, not you."

"Ok, I promise to show you a drawing of mine next time.." Daniel said looking at him. "After we buy the things we need, but you must also show me your art."

"Deal?"

"Deal."

Both boys smiled at each other.


	6. Friendship II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years after the massacre at the border, Daniel’s life had changed a lot, the death of his father and brother, his escape to Puerto Lobos to start a new life, dragging a past that he could never leave behind. When Daniel decided that he would never see a familiar face again, the past and the present cross in his road.

Chris looked curiously around, there were many people walking on the streets in the morning. In the place where Daniel had parked his pickup there was a stall with a vendor in each corner.

"Hey, don't get lost, stay close to me." Daniel said when he saw the blond man approaching the stall of crafts to see what they were selling.

"Dude, I'm not five years old, let me see those small pyramids."

Daniel laughed.

"If you want any cliché souvenir from Mexico you should buy a Mexican hat."

Chris ignored him and took a small sculpture that had a Mayan calendar.

"How much does this cost?" Chris asked the woman who was selling it.

"500 pesos, young man." Said the woman. "Take advantage, it's very cheap!"

Daniel took Chris by the arm and approached him.

"Dan! Let me buy something!"

"Dude, that woman wants to cheat you."

"It’s cute."

"500 pesos for a poorly painted small souvenir?"

"Well, but it has a Mayan calendar."

"Dude, she knows you're a foreigner and wants to take advantage of you." Daniel said shaking his head. "If you want something like that I'll take you to a better place later."

"You know what? I want to buy souvenirs just to contradict you." Chris said amused.

"Well, if you want to spend 500 pesos on that ugly souvenir, I'm not going to stop you." Daniel said raising an eyebrow.

Chris laughed.

"Geez, it doesn't matter, let's buy the things we need." Chris said as he pushed Daniel to keep walking.

"Daniel!"

Both boys turned their heads.

A dark skinned boy with green eyes and black hair taken in a ponytail quickly approached the boys as he raised his hand in greeting to Daniel. The boy has several tattoos on his arms and has a nose piercing.

"Man I didn't know you were going to be here today." Said the man surprised while clashing his hands with Daniel's.

"Hey, Alex." Daniel greeted. "It's weird to see you here in the morning."

"Dude, you say it as if I could never wake up early." He said laughing and his eyes stopped on Chris.

Chris felt uncomfortable with his presence, Alex looked at him from head to toe and a smile formed on his lips.

"Hey.. Who is your friend?" He said looking curiously at Chris.

"Alex, don't bother him." Daniel said and sighed. "Chris, he's Alex, my coworker."

"Nice to meet you Chris." Alex said shaking his hand as he winked at him.

"Umm, hello." Chris said returning the handshake and quickly withdrew his hand when he felt the man squeeze it.

"Ignore him, he just likes to bother you." Daniel said while nudging Alex. "Well man, Chris and I are leaving, see you tomorrow."

"Wait, I want to tell you something." Alex said to Daniel. “It’s very important.”

"Hey, anything about work is spoken on the cell phone." Daniel interrupted him as he directed his gaze at Chris.

"It's something I just found out.. Chris, do you mind giving me and Daniel a few minutes?" Alex asked to Chris. "I promise to return him in a few minutes."

"Um .. Sure." Chris said not very sure looking at Alex and then Daniel before walking to a store of crafts.

When Chris walked away from the boys Alex jumped towards Daniel.

"Dude, where did you get him?" Alex asked excitedly. "Your friend is very cute, can I do him?"

"Did you really hold me back for that?" Daniel asked amusedly as he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "I doubt he's gay so leave him alone."

"Mmm, do you really think that? I had my gaydar on"

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I'm leaving, see you tomorrow." Daniel said walking away.

"Daniel! Hold on a minute! Besides your friend being hot, I received a call from Alejandro." He said.

"What did he want?"

"Man." Alex said as he lowered his voice. "The military stopped the boat that was going through Panama."

"Holy shit."

"I told him that he had to send us the packages again or return the money to us."

"Well, what did he say?"

"He is going to return the money to us since he wants the issue of the police investigation to calm down a bit."

"What a shit."

"I already talked to another supplier we have."

"And it will be more expensive."

"Yeah, the supplier is in Mexico, so we avoid another drama like the one that just happened until things calm down."

Daniel clicked his tongue.

"Whatever, when do they arrive with the packages?"

"Tomorrow morning at 3:00a.m." Alex explained. "He told me that we had to wait for them at the entrance of Puertos Lobos."

"Have you transferred the money?"

"No, not yet, I wanted to ask you first what do you think about the new supplier."

"Do it, see you tomorrow."

"Whatever my boss wishes." Alex said winking.

"Tell Andrés to join us too."

"Damn it." Alex cursed. "Why does that guy have to work with us? he ruins all the fun."

"Because he has my total trust and is a good bodyguard unlike you."

"Come on dude, do you still hold a grudge? I swear they had the gun very well saved and I didn't saw when they aimed at you."

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"See you tomorrow."

"Hey, call my sister, she keeps asking me about you! She says she called you several times yesterday and you didn't answer any calls."

Daniel ignored him and went on his way.

"What a jerk is this guy." Alex sighed.

* * *

"I will buy it for 250 pesos." Chris pointed out a small pyramid of various colors.

"I sell it at 400 pesos." Said the woman.

"300 pesos?" Chris asked hopefully.

"350 pesos, and it’s my last offer."

"Deal." Chris said as he looked for the money in his pockets, but before giving it to the woman who was happy, Daniel took him by the arm and pulled him to where he was.

"Chris, stop giving them money."

"I thought we had agreed that you weren't going to get in." Chris reproached him as he released his arm from Daniel's grip.

"I don't want those motherfuckers to make easy money by taking advantage of you."

"it's okay, you win, jesus." Chris said resignedly. "Did you finish talking to your weird friend?"

"Yeah." Daniel laughed. "Weird?"

"Yes man, he made fun of me without knowing me."

"Chris, he didn't make fun of you, why do you think that?"

"Dan, didn't you see what he did when you introduced us?"

"Yes? Flirt with you? He does that with whom he thinks is cute."

"Oh."

"Yes, don't worry, I told him you don't go that way." Daniel said laughing as he patted Chris on the back.

".... Alright." Chris said without saying much.

"Well, let's buy the things we need, it’s getting late." Daniel said while looking at the time on his phone.

Chris nodded and followed him.

* * *

After Daniel and Chris bought the things they needed, they decided to first leave the flowers in Sean's grave before arriving at Daniel's house.

"Dan is very late, it's 2:00 p.m." Chris said as he entered the house with some bags in his hands and looked at the old clock Daniel had in the kitchen.

"It's never too late to eat, can I help you with something?" Daniel said leaving the bags on the table.

"You can help me chop the tomatoes and the onion, I have to put the pasta in the pot and prepare the pan." He said leaving the bags on the table to look for things he needed.

"Okay."

Daniel took the first knife he saw and began to chop the tomato.

"Dude... did you wash the tomatoes?" Chris asked when he saw his friend chop them on the table.

"... No?" Daniel replied not very sure of his answer.

Chris laughed.

"Jesus, you're gross Dan." He said laughing. "You have to wash them and then you have to chop it into small pieces, those pieces that you are chopping are very large."

Daniel looked at the pieces he had that were the size of a finger.

"What's wrong with that size?"

"Later the sauce won't cook well." Chris explained as he took the knife and chopped a tomato. "See? This should be the size."

"Well, we have a chef over here." Daniel said with a mocking tone.

"This is super basic cooking." Chris explained. "Seriously, how do you feed when you don't buy street food?"

Daniel shrugged.

"Normally I buy TV dinners, I just have to heat it in the microwave, like ramen or pizza."

"Dude, that is disgusting."

"The pizza you ate yesterday was one of those frozen pizzas sold in the supermarket and I didn't see you complaining about the taste."

"You know what people say, if they are giving you free pizza you have no right to complain." Chris said smiling. "But starting today this kitchen is mine until I leave, and therefore we will eat what I cook, none of those disgusting frozen things."

"Shit, I didn't know that my friend's visit included a housewife." Daniel said laughing. "If I had known this I would never have let you into my house."

"Your worst nightmare became true." Chris said laughing.

"Chris, seriously I don't care about it, do whatever you want, this house is now yours too..."

"Well, that's very nice of you, thanks Daniel."

"... I don't care while you cook for me."

"Well, I guess somehow I have to pay for my stay, but you're going to clean the dishes."

"Damn it."

* * *

Chris was sitting drawing in one of the beach chairs that Daniel had placed in front of his house.

In the neighboring house, there was a family gathered near the beach, everyone drank and laughed while some children played on the shore.

Daniel left the house with two beers and a sketchbook in his other hand.

"For you." Daniel gave Chris a beer.

"Thank you." Chris said opening and drinking it.

"What are you drawing?" Daniel asked curiously as he sat on the chair next to Chris.

"I'm just practicing landscapes." Chris said as he showed him what he was drawing.

"Shiiiit, dude, that is fucking awesome. It looks like a photo." Daniel said while admiring the drawing.

"Thanks to many years of practice and many afternoons going to the outskirts of Seattle to practice landscapes."

"You have fucking talent." Daniel said as he passed the sketchbook pages, on several pages he could see drawings of faces, animals, landscapes and superheroes. "I mean, you draw amazing, you cook very well. That pasta was delicious."

Chris smiled, his cheeks flushed.

"Thanks, I don't think I'm so amazing but I'm still trying to improve."

"You are the only one who doesn't see how incredible you are, Jesus." Daniel stopped at one of the pages where there was a drawing of two superheroes. "Chris.. This drawing.."

Chris smiled sadly.

"Yeah, it's another version of what we drawn together 10 years ago." Chris explained as he looked down. "You should look at the last page."

Daniel quickly turned the pages until he reached the last drawing.

"Our drawing, wow." Daniel said and laughed. "I really drew so badly?"

"Dude, I also drew pathetic." Chris said. "I was a disaster and thought those drawings were amazing."

Both boys laughed.

"I never forgot you.. well, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now."

"Man, don't say that."

"I met you at the time I needed more someone to help me.. literally." Chris said. "How could I forget someone who did so much for me?

"Well, I'm glad those damn powers saved you."

"You think I’m lying because I feel pity, but you are special, and I don't think you have those powers for nothing."

"Oh shit, here we go again." Daniel said as he drank of his beer. "I won't have another talk with you about my powers."

Chris shrugged and drank of his beer too.

"I already fulfilled part of our deal." Chris reminded him. "Now you must show me your sketchbook."

"Please, have some mercy, don't be so hard on me." Daniel said in a mocking tone as he gave his sketchbook to Chris.

"How do you want your score to be, from 1 to 10 or from 1 to 100?"

"I think 1 to 10 would hurt less."

Chris laughed and opened Daniel's sketchbook.

He saw several drawings of faces, animals and landscapes of Puerto Lobos.

"Dan, they're awesome!" Chris said admiring Daniel's strokes and the shading he used in each of his drawings. "I love how you draw the shading.. And your strokes, you have a unique technique.."

Chris turned the pages until he got one that caught his attention.

This drawing.

Daniel has it tattooed on the left side of his chest.

"Dude .. Is he your brother?" Chris asked curiously. "You tattooed the drawing."

"Yeah .. I got that tattoo 4 years ago."

"Oh."

Both boys remained silent for a few minutes while watching the sunset.

"I wanted something special on the chest, near the side where the heart is, so I thought a picture of Sean would be perfect." Daniel explained. "I made the design of the picture and I took it to the tattoo artist."

"Well, it looks amazing." Chris said sincerely.

"How did you know it’s Sean's face? I always hide it with my clothes." Daniel asked as he looked at Chris rising his eyebrow. "Little stalker."

"Well, I don't know if you remember, but this morning you did a striptease in the room after I left the bathroom." Chris said with a smile.

"Oh shit, you're right, you were there." Daniel said laughing. "You enjoyed the view, right?"

Chris rolled his eyes and looked straight ahead, hiding the faint blush on his cheeks.

"It's not like there was much to look at, to be honest." Chris replied as he finished drinking his beer.

"That was fucking rude man." Daniel said laughing. "Hey, I'd like to show you something, hold on a minute."

"Okay."

Daniel got up from the chair and entered the house, Chris kept looking at Daniel's drawings.

Many of Daniel's drawings Chris saw a person who looked like Sean but with a beard.

 _Esteban_ , Daniel's dad, of course, Chris had read what had happened to him in the news after he began investigating the whereabouts of the Diaz brothers.

Chris suddenly felt sad thinking about what Daniel had to suffer when he was just a child, knowing his father died.

 _God dammit, there's nothing fair about it._ Chris thought bitterly.

When he closed the sketchbook Daniel left the house with something red in his hands.

Chris's eyes were wide with amazement and he got up from the chair when Daniel showed him what he had in his hands, his memories displayed in his mind like a movie.

_"Here." Chris said while taking off his cape. "This is your cape."_

"Do you remember it?" Daniel asked with a smile on his lips.

_"You are the real superhero."_

"Daniel, that is my old cape.." Chris whispered without even believing that Daniel still had his cape with him.

"Yes, I kept it with my stuff when Sean and I fled Beaver Creek." Daniel said while looking at the cape with love. "It meant a lot to me when you gave it to me, so I made sure to keep it safe and not to lose it."

_Daniel looked at him surprised, and gave him a sad smile._

_"Thanks Chris, that is super cool."_

Chris touched his old cape and felt his heart beat faster.

_"Like you."_

"I guess it's time to give it back to the true hero of this story." Daniel said smiling wistfully as he gave it to Chris. "Thanks for everything Captain Spirit."

But before Daniel could do something, Chris hugged him.

"I already have something better back to my life." He said with tears in his eyes and resting his head on Daniel’s shoulder. "And that's you."

Daniel was surprised by the gesture of his old friend, but a few seconds later he smiled and hugged him tightly too.

"Me too." Daniel said, he felt his heart warm.


End file.
